Oikawa Daycare
by Tsukiko Ono
Summary: Why hello there! How nice of you to drop by! Staying overtime at work? No problem. Having date night in the afternoon and don't have anyone to watch the kids? Look no further! I'd be happy to watch those little munchkins for you! 【AU】
1. Approved!

**1**

**_ "Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off."_**

**_ ~Colin Powell_**

* * *

><p>It happened.<p>

It had finally happened.

After months of nearly going broke in getting Sunday papers trying to find help wanted ads— after weeks of calling numerous phone numbers only to get turned down just as many times, and after days spent with no food in his system whatsoever...

Oikawa Tooru got himself a job.

A _job_. **J-O-B.**

He could hardly believe it when he had gotten the courage to look in his mailbox again. All he ever got were numerous letters that practically screamed 'Like hell we'd hire you' all over. Heartbreaking as it was then, this was _now_.

His golden ticket. His ultimate boon. The item that could change his life forever was in the form of a simple( now ripped up, but whatever) ivory envelope.

"And she said I'd start _tomorrow_! Isn't that great, Iwa-chan?"

...

An uncomfortable silence filled the other end of the phone—whether or not Iwaizumi was even in his apartment Oikawa would never know. There was, he noted, a slight humming noise that buzzed in his ears.

"...So you're telling me..." He finally began, trying ever so hard (not really) to keep down his rising itritation. "_You got a job...at a **daycare**?"_

The former setter made an incredulous look, yet stifled a laugh at the same time.

"That's what I said, silly!" He chimed. "Are you even liste—"

_"What the actual **fuck**, Oikawa?"_ The male in question could sense his friend's shock—and possible disbelief too, but that wasn't all that important to him at that moment.

"Now, now Iwa-chan. No need to be all judgemental..."

The grimacing male grunted under his breath. "_Quit calling me that, you asswipe. That was over in high school."_

"Just because you say it's over doesn't mean I do~."

_"Go to hell."_

Rolling his eyes, Oikawa rolled onto his back, his hand over his mouth as he laughed—there was no way he was going to let Iwaizumi ruin his mood yet.

Did he even have a job himself? Last time he checked, he was still operating the popcorn machines at the nearby theatre.

_'He talks all this crap about my new gig, but can't even get a decent one himself.'_

Noticing the sudden silence that had dulled their already rocky conversation, Oikawa snapped out of his thoughts and pressed his cell firmly to his ear. Had he lost connection _again_?

"Iwa-chan, you still there?"

He could hear a heavy yet annoyed sigh at this.

_"I would've hung up already if I I did."_

"Wow," Tooru gasped, dramatically clutching his chest with his free hand. "You're such a wonderful friend. I must be very special to you, aren't I?"

"_Will you just get to the fucking point of your call before I hang up for real?"_

"Okay, okay! _Geez_."

For the next five minutes or so, Oikawa explained pretty much everything he had said before when he first dialed Iwaizumi's number. Every once in a while he'd get a 'Oh' and 'Seriously?' as he was telling the dark-haired boy about his newfound pastime. Overall, though, he seemed intrigued by most of it. (Which was surprising, considering he almost never gave a damn about whatever Oikawa happened to be rambling about).

"And the daycare is actually near that new park just a few blocks from here," he added, "I thought that was pretty cool."

Iwaizumi scoffed, completely unamused. "_What're gonna do, eat lunch on the swings? Get real, dumbass. Plus, why would you even wanna be around little twerps for who knows how long?"_

"I think the words you were looking for were 'insanely adorable children', and I know how to take care of them."

"Since when? You can't even take care of yourself!"

"I so _can_, thank you very much! And believe me, Iwa-chan—I'll find a way!" Oikawa retorted, clearly appalled. "Whether those kids like me or not, they will know of the greatness that is the _one_—"

"_Please don't_—"

"—the_ only..._!"

"NOー"

"**_TOORU OIKAWA_**!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: In all honesty, writing these two were very challenging on my part—especially Oikawa XD. This'll be multi-chapter, of course, and updates'll probably be around every Sunday or so at the most. Thoughts? Questions? Let me know in a review! ( ^ω^ )**

**See you!**

**_~Tsuki_**


	2. Meet the Kids, Part I

**2**

**"Observing and commenting, it is a piece of cake. Experiencing and sharing; that is a piece of work."**

**_-Toba Beta_**

**Meet the Kids, Part I**

* * *

><p>If there was anything Tooru Oikawa couldn't do,(which, he hated to admit, was just about everything except volleyball) it was finding his car keys on a every morning.<p>

The day before would always start off with a gameplan—get up, go somewhere, go back home, and leave the keys on the counter. And usually, it always ended with him basically dumping out everything in his shoulder bag and shuffle through a bunch of fast food receipts in hopes of hearing clanking metal at the bottom.

In other words, when it came to getting his keys...

_"The hell do you want this time, loser?"_

"Hey Iwa-chan~! Haven't heard from you in a while—!"

_"You lost your keys again, didn't you?"_

"..."

_"Goddammit."_

...He knew exactly who to call.

* * *

><p>"It's down the road...on your right."<p>

"I know how to drive."

A brown, plain old building the size of a small building could be seen from Oikawa's view inside Iwaizumi's car. Though it looked completely kid-friendly and relatively modern, it was more in width than actual volume. And to be honest, he wasn't all too happy about that fact. He was already pretty tall—it wasn't like he wanted to get crushed under the ceiling trying to grab a teething toy on his first day.

"You think I can do it, Hajime-kun?"

Iwaizumi glanced towards Oikawa, hitting the brakes as he pulled up to the parking lot. Mostly because it was rather rare of someone as dumb And childish as Oikawa to address him by his first name so abruptly.

"Do what?"

With an exasperated sigh, the male in the passenger seat gestured to the building in all its cramped glory.

"This. _All_ this. Caring for kids of people I don't even know...keeping them happy. And safe. And _loved_..."

At this, Iwaizumi's pissed expression strangely softened. "Now you're second-guessing? That's a surprise."

Oikawa's face whipped around to face his friend—about to burst in pure laughter at his seemingly calm reaction.

'_He can't be serious, right?'_

"Second-guessing? Iwa-chan, what're _you_ talking about? You do realize how absurdly easy it is to get kids to like you, right? I mean, I'm always a hit with the ladies—it's not like boys are any different."

"Dunno," Iwaizumi then growled, "you might be wrong about that last part." He then proceeded to unlock the door. Oikawa opened it on his side, expecting the other to follow in suit.

"What're you waiting on? Just go." He began a shooing motion with his hand against Tooru's shoulder.

"You aren't coming with me?" He nearly whined.

_"Hell no. _I'm not your mom._"_

With a roll of his eyes, Oikawa shut the door and patiently watched Iwaizumi (who found it increasingly annoying because he had nowhere else to look at) pull out into the road, soon driving away.

And when he did, the brown-haired boy had no choice but to start walking towards the door.

'_This is it,'_ he thought, _'the moment of truth...'_

* * *

><p><strong>※※※<strong>

As he got closer, he began to hear noises—of course, not those weird sounds when approaching a haunted house in a horror movie, but noises that sounded...happy. Joyous, even.

Laughter and shouting, but on a playful level. He heard the shuffling of what he guessed were blocks and towers made out of Legos.

There was a huge bay window just across where he finally stepped onto the doormat of the place, which still felt more like a house than a business. Inside were also people much taller than the children running around in large green aprons. At this Oikawa grimaced.

There was no way he'd be seen wearing that ugly thing. Especially in front of Iwaizumi.

Nonetheless, he turned the knob of the rickety old door and stepped into what seemed like the lobby. It smelled fairly nice, considering how it looked from the outside.

At the front desk,(which was literally there right when he walked in) a gorgeous woman with shoulder-length, ebony colored hair and thin eyeglasses looked up from a stack—no, a mound—of papers towards Tooru. A beauty mark was present just below her lips. She also wore a plain, blue t-shirt with a large black crow, which Tooru thought to be strangely fascinating.

"Um, hello..."

Coming back to his senses after taking in her rather exquisite beauty, Oikawa laughed sheepishly and began walking towards her.

"Hello~! Sorry, it's been a _longg_ morning for me," he chimed, nonchalantly putting his arm on the desk, "Ya know, keys and all..."

The woman shot him a skeptic look as he casually brushed back some of his hair Back, as if trying to impress her. "Ah...I'm guessing you're Oikawa-kun."

"Why _yes_, yes I am—I'm quite flattered that you know of my glory."

"...Right..."

The woman typed something incoherent on the desktop in front of her—a slew of clicking and mouse dragging could be heard—before handing the boy a thick sheet of paper. He noted how warm it was when it touched with his hand. Even when he flipped it back and fourth, the warmth was still there.

_'Fresh out the printer.'_

"What's this bad boy?"

"A list of the kids that you'll be in charge of from now till the end of December," she effortlessly explained,"I'll need you to sign it at the bottom."

With that, Tooru decided to sit in one of the series of small, cherrywood chairs directly parallel from the front desk. He brought the paper up closer to his face and began reading.

**IKEDA CHILDHOOD CARE**

**CLASS OF '14**

**Room 104**

**_Aone, Takanobu/05 years_**

**_Azumane, Asahi/06 years_**

**_Hitoka, Yachi/03 years_**

**_Kageyama, Tobio/03 years_**

**_Kuroo, Tetsurou/06 years_**

"One...two...three...four..._**five**_."

_'Really?'_

Coughing to hide his internal shock, his eyes darted over the same names, counting and recounting them each time. _Five_. He did it once more. Five _again_! In the end, he almost did a double take.

There was only five? That was **it**?

_'And no catch. Interesting...'_

Hell, if five little munchkins was all he had to worry about, then he'd be fine! It wasn't like he was stuck with a bunch of one-year-olds in a room for twelve hours. All the _**crying**_ and the endless **_diapers_** and _**bottles**_ and **_formulas_**—these guys were potty trained! They knew how to talk, and they knew how to express themselves without having to spend hours trying to get 'I want something to eat' across to their parents.

His life would be so much easier!

Taking out a conveniently placed pen in one of the many pockets of his shoulder bag, Oikawa began scribbling away diligently. It was after he had written out his fabulous name in glittery green cursive that he had soon noticed the small, bolded print at the very bottom of the form.

'**Assistant: Hinata, Shouyo.'**

Uh...

_What._

"Pardon me, doll face—but do the other people that work here have these 'assistants' as well?"

The woman labeled 'doll face' quirked an uncomfortable brow.

"W-well, not usually. Only the ones that are new receive help."

"But what if you, perhaps, didn't _need_ this 'assistant?' What if you felt you could handle it on your own?"

"...Excuse me?"

"I mean," Oikawa began, flipping unruly hair out of his face, "I don't think I need one."

The woman simply sighed, too tired to carry on the already pointless conversation. "I don't mean to sound rude, Oikawa-kun, but...you will."

With that, she stood up, taking the paper out of his clutches and sorting it nearly in the pile she made from the heap on her desk.

"The aprons you'll be wearing are in the back—go all the way down that hallway, and you'll see a door on your left," she added.

"Got it. But one more thing..."

The woman, who was about to go up a long flight if stairs just above the lobby, turned around, quirked her brow.

"Yes?"

"I never got your name."

Oikawa would be lying if he wasn't even a little surprised when her face was starting to grow red—she held the stack of papers tighter to her chest.

"S-Shimizu..."

And just like that, she was already gone up the flight of stairs in seconds, leaving a still dazed Tooru (the architecture in the daycare was still a mystery to him) wandering around the room for a while. Eventually though, he decided to get going and started his long walk down the hallway Shimizu instructed him to go through.

'_That's right..._' He murmured in his thoughts. '_Regardless of this 'assistant', I still have a job. That's better than none.'_

The noises of the children grew louder as Oikawa absentmindedly fastened his apron, tying a satisfactory knot behind him. With a triumphant pose, his gaze landed on the main door just a few feet away from him.

The very door that would test just how much he could handle under a tiny roof with five little children following his lead.

Room 104.

_'Bring it.'_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Goodness, you do not realize how much had to be fixed in this chapter. Even though it's not a Sunday, early chapters are nice too, right? ε-(´∀｀; ). ****Part II is next~!**

**Thoughts on this chapter? Lemme know in a review!**

**See you next week!**

**_~Tsuki_**


	3. Meet the Kids, Part II

**3**

**_Children make your life important._ **

**~Erma Bombeck**

**Meet the Kids, Part II**

* * *

><p>"So let me get this straight—you want me to tell Tetsurou to push you on the swings?"<p>

The little albino boy looking at him nodded, yet remained emotionless as ever. His glare was directed straight at another boy, who had a halo of messy, unkempt hair and a sly smile on his round face. He was busily pushing a small, giggling girl on the swings as she wildly kicked her tiny legs back and forth.

"Well, I can't guarantee he'll listen Aone-san…but I'll try!"

"…_Hm_."

"Tetsurou!" The older boy shouted, now standing from the kneeling position he took while talking to Aone. "Don't push Yachi too hard!" Grabbing the albino's free hand, he walked towards the swing set without ease. Tetsurou glanced over at the duo, his evident smirk seemingly growing wider than it already was. Yachi, on the other hand, started giggling more as they got closer.

"Hey, Hinata-sensei!" He chimed merrily while winking, "Is there something wrong with Aone-san?"

"Tetsurou…" Hinata sighed, pointing to the swings opposite of Yachi. The quote-on-quote '_Big Kid_ Swings.'

"I thought I told you not to hog the swings. Especially not from Aone."

The bed-headed child widened his eyes, faking a gasp. "You said for _me_ to not hog the swings, right? I'm giving Yachi her turn now…right, _Yachi-chan_?

The girl clapped in response, shouting, "Yeah!"

Hinata furrowed his brows as he thought over Tetsurou's words—words that even he himself didn't remember saying. It was either that, or the little boy was just twisting around his words. Which was, unfortunately, not all that uncommon.

"Yeah, that's true and all...but Aone wants a turn to be pushed as well."

The silent boy agreed while nodding absentmindedly.

"But what about Asahi and Tobio?" Tetsurou retorted. "Wouldn't they want a go at the swings too? Tobio's _really_ little like Yachi-chan, and Aone always pushes _**suuuper**_ hard."

"Do _not_." Aone grumbled.

"Oh yes you _do~!"_

"Don't argue, you two." Hinata butted in, patting the heads of both boys. He then gestured over to the other two kids—one with a bushy brown ponytail and wide eyes, and the other with dark, raven colored hair. His eyes were the color of the sky. They were busying themselves with the sandbox. While the other boy was honestly attempting at creating a decent sandcastle, the other was simply terrorizing his progress and turning it into more mounds of wet sand.

"Asahi gets his castles crushed by Tobio all the time," the orange-haired caretaker began after the two boys got a good glimpse of Asahi's bewildered face, "But Asahi doesn't get mad at him."

"But Sensei," Tetsurou retorted, "That's different. Asahi-san's a softie about **_everything_**."

"Eh, I guess."

Heaving a sigh, the orange-haired male removed Yachi from the swings,(much to her dislike) and up into his equally small arms. He then guided Tetsurou and Aone towards the other set, asking for the grumpy-six year old to sit. Though he could—by know, anyway—sense his obvious discomfort, he patted Aone on the back.

"Tetsurou, just do me a favor and push Aone for a bit."

"Roger!"

After the first few pushes, Aone still held his usual poker face when Tetsurou practically had to shove him in order for the swings to start moving back and forth. As time went on the boy had noticed the momentum increasing, the swing getting higher and higher as he kicked his legs. Aone felt an unknown flutter in his chest. His eyes were growing wider, his grip got tighter, and his legs were beginning to feel more pasted to Jupiter than his own body. Was it _exhilaration_? Was it _fear_? What was it...

In all honesty, he didn't know what this feeling was. But he also didn't really care all that much either.

"...D'you think he's enjoying this...?" A wary Hinata asked, Yachi now magically dozing off in his grasp. Tetsurou lazily shook his head.

"I think he's terrified, Sensei." He whispered back, somehow interested in the wild facial expressions Aone made while looking almost frozen in shock. Hinata noticed this too, finding it equally disturbing.

"_Oi_. I guess it's about time to go back inside anyway..."

"Perhaps _I_ could help with that."

Hinata and Tetsurou both blinked, glancing at each other before turning back to the source of the voice. Tobio and Asahi also noticed, now cowering(on Asahi's part, Tobio just stood there) behind their teacher as the new, rather tall figure stood there. Aone was still on the swing, but lost momentum and was just sitting on it while staring back at Hinata.

He stood there, with deep brown eyes and a smirk on his face. He had dark, curly brown locks that stood in ways that defied gravity, and an unwavering aura of something Hinata couldn't put his finger on just then. Yet for some reason, it kinda irked him too.

A _lot_, actually.

Nonetheless, he greeted him warmly without hesitation, much to the surprise of Tetsurou, Aone, and the others. Yachi was too busy drooling on Hinata's shoulder to notice.

"Hi there," he greeted, extending his free hand, "Are you here to pick up someone?"

...

_'That sounded a lot better in my head.'_

The mystery guy in question suddenly laughed, completely amused.

"No, not exactly..." He chuckled.

He then gestured to the long green apron he had been wearing over his normal attire. Then he gave the smaller boy the same paper Shimizu had given him a short while ago. He waited for him to get a good view of the document before continuing.

"So you see, my friend," he playfully drawled, "I'm in full control of these little guys starting right about now."

A collective gasp rose around the kids as Hinata's own eyes bulged at the print before him.

_'Full control, eh?'_

"In other words, I'm going to be second in command to a daycare noob." He sniggered, covering his mouth with his hand.

"_Daycare **noob?**_" The mystery guy sputtered in disbelief. "I'm afraid you're mistaken, _Shou_-chan. I know kids."

'Shou-chan' laughed even more before gesturing to Asahi to get everyone(excluding him and the new guy) inside and washed up. Noon would show up by the time he was through getting everyone set up for lunch.

If he could even get _inside_, first.

Meanwhile though, he now had to deal with this guy—this '_Oikawa_'—that he had heard so much of earlier this week. At first, the redhead figured it was all just one of those rumors he'd been informed of just months before. New workers were rare at Ikeda, since the place in general wasn't all that suitable for large groups of people. And even if it was, they would have to be at least Hinata's current height so they wouldn't develop hunchbacks over the course of twelve hours. But at the same time, it was also one of those rare occasions where these rumors were indeed true. Hell, his proof was standing right in front of him, anyway.

As soon as Asahi had shut the sliding door from the outside, Hinata's eyes fell onto Oikawa's sneering face. If he was still the same stubborn high schooler from back then, he would've been completely thrown off. But he was older. Wiser, even. He was—somehow—out of school, with a job and a car. He still lived with his parents, yeah, but they didn't mind much.

"So you know kids, Oikawa-kun? Have you ever worked at any other daycares?"

"Unfortunately, no," Oikawa replied almost instantly. "Though I doubt I'll need much assistance from you."

Another laugh escaped the redhead's lips. "Ah, I see. Then that must mean you can take little Yachi here to her sleeping mat?"

The tall boy's eyes sparkled, sensing a challenge in Hinata's seemingly harmless tone. Yachi tousled and turned under his grip as Oikawa trudged to where Hinata stood, arms wide open.

"Without waking her up?" He continued steadily, letting her fall into his arms gently. She barely flinched a bit.

_**"You're on, Shou-chan."**_

* * *

><p><strong>＊＊＊<strong>

"Who _is_ that guy..." Asahi trembled, fumbling with his hands. He could see the two boys from the distance that one of the windows in the room gave him.

"Dunno," Tetsurou replied, drying his hands off with a paper towel, "But whoever he is, I don't think Sensei likes him all that much." He threw the towel away and resorted to joining his fellow classmates by the window.

This made Asahi worry even more. "What if he's trying to replace Sensei?!"

"Nah. Doesn't make sense." Aone mumbled. He had a hard time getting a good view the the new guy, but still seethed when it was pretty clear he wasn't going anywhere.

"I don't like this, you guys..."

The three continued to stare through the small window, leaving a little Tobio to clumsily waltz around the room in boredom. The Legos he had left unattended before he went outside were still there, so he decided to plop onto the round carpet of the playroom and continue working on what he thought to be a spaceship. As far as the window watching went, all seemed normal and looked like it would end soon. Until, of course...the new guy looked like he was holding something heavy in his arms, while Hinata—who was carrying around Yachi just moments before according to Tetsurou's view—stood completely with nothing in his hands.

"Whoa! He's got Yachi-chan now!"

"Oh, he moves _fast_..." Tetsurou muttered to himself.

Asahi shuddered as he saw the small girl's head nestled into the crook of Oikawa's neck—whether or not she was awake, he didn't know. He also couldn't comprehend why Hinata(who looked like a grade-schooler compared to Oikawa) was so calm, either. Wasn't Yachi in trouble?

"...He's coming back..." Aone whispered, now noting the two men outside walking towards the sliding door. Hinata however, seemed to be conjuring up random hand gestures directed at Tetsurou and Asahi. From their reaction though, it seemed that they had knew this signal all too well.

_"...Lockdown."_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Oh look at that, another long chapter~! Hopefully it wasn't too bad, hehe...Thoughts? Let me know in a review! Part III is next!**

**See you!**

**_~Tsuki_**


	4. Meet the Kids, Part III

**4**

**_"Children are like wet cement—whatever falls on them makes an impression."_**

**-Dr. Haim Ginott**

**Meet the Kids, Part III**

* * *

><p>"Right now?" Asahi gasped. "It's not even snack time yet!"<p>

"I know, I know," Tetsurou retorted. "But if Sensei wants us to do it now, then it must be a big deal."

Nodding in unison, both Asahi and Aone made a beeline for the cabinets by the sink, where a stash of large blue—and one red, courtesy of Tetsurou—sleeping mats were present. One by one, they dragged them out onto the outskirts Tobio's Lego kingdom(which was guarded by a whole moat made out of blue 4x4 Lego blocks). Yachi and Tobio preferred the mini black futons that were kept in the very back on the room rather than the unfortunately flat sleeping mats, so Aone got that out as well.

Meanwhile, Tetsurou was busy with the tiny radio on the counter near the snack cabinet, taking out the CD that was placed there a few days with the one marked 'Emergencies Only'. He then closed the top of the radio and listened to the CD begin to load.

"Quick Asahi," he whispered to said boy, "What's the status?"

Asahi had dropped his load of blankets he was carrying and made his way towards the window. From the view, he noticed that both the new guy and Hinata were right in front of the door. However, it also didn't seem like they were going to be entering the room anytime soon. Every once in a while Hinata would catch his glance and start wiggling his eyebrows up and down. Asahi was more than weirded out by it. He had no clue about _what_ the guy was trying to tell him.

It was after what felt like the hundredth time he wiggled his eyebrows that Asahi had finally understood what Hinata was trying to get across to him. It was yet another one of the many signals that he and Tetsurou had made up just last year.

The _'Are you Ready?'_ signal.

Instantly, Asahi shook his head, scurrying back to his fallen pile of blankets.

"Sensei's just talking to him—and he keeps moving his eyebrows."

Tetsurou hummed, glancing over at Tobio. "He's probably stalling for time. In that case, let's move faster."

Aone walked over the three-year-old boy's kingdom on the rug and began picking apart at the Lego moat one by one—much to Tobio's shock.

"_Don't_! Don't touch that!" He cried.

"...Sorry." Aone replied, not knowing what else to say.

Tobio whined even more as the older boy blatantly continued to gather the blue 4x4's in his hand, dropping them in the large red containers Tetsurou kept them in. He was protecting his makeshift ship in the process.

"Stop it!" He finally shouted. "_It's** mine**_!"

* * *

><p><strong>＊＊＊<strong>

_'What's taking them so long? At this rate I'll probably have to call it all off...'_

They had been standing out there for around twenty minutes now. Oikawa was still holding onto Yachi as if he had held her a million times before, beads of sweat collecting at the nape of his neck.

Hinata didn't normally sweat on cool days while doing nothing but standing around—but today was very different. As he continued to stall with careless conversation with Oikawa, he could feel his hands get an unnecessary clamminess whenever he spoke. He also found it hard to focus on Oikawa himself without looking back at the window, hoping to see either Aone, Asahi, it Tetsurou's faces holding a thumbs-up sign. Heck, maybe even Tobio.

Despite this, he kept on talking—stalling or not, he had to make sure this guy wasn't a wannabe 'go out with me, I'm good with kids' type. He usually made up these little 'scenarios' with new workers all the time. But he made this one extra special.

Meanwhile, Oikawa was still wondering why Hinata wasn't willing to open the door yet. It was super hot, and he was pretty sure Yachi was beginning to get sweaty too. It wasn't until he started hearing muffled shouting and frequent shushing from the inside that made him have enough of the small talk he had with Hinata.

"Where's that sound coming from?" Oikawa muttered, about to peer through the window.

Hinata instantly stopped him, resting a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Where're you going? The door's this way."

"I noticed, know-it-all. But I swear I just heard someone in there. Plus, it's getting really hot out there."

* * *

><p><strong>＊＊＊<strong>

"Listen Tobio—I know you're not all too happy about Aone destroying your thingy—"

"Mah _**moat**_." Tobio angrily corrected the bed-headed boy who was laying across from him. The blue eyed toddler was lying on his side in frustration. The lights had been off for around ten minutes, so only a fraction of his face could be seen in the eyes of Tetsurou.

"R-Right, your _'moat_'." he added. "But when lockdown is over, I'll help you rebuild it. Promise."

"_No_," Tobio spat. "I wanna do it _mah self_!"

"Alright, _alright_! Just keep it down, okay?"

Compared to the usual overextended episodes of Tobio's **_'Deadly and Inescapable Wrath' _**that Tetsurou and Aone (Asahi was too much of a baby himself to bother him) had to deal with whenever a surprise lockdown occurred, he was a lot easier to handle this time. Yeah, he shouted profusely at Aone, but usually it'd be a hundred times louder. And yeah, he hit Tetsurou a couple times as the older boy tried to calm him down, but usually he planned an all-out _assault_ on him.

"Okay Asahi, go tell Sensei we're ready."

Asahi nodded, quickly moving towards the window to give Hinata a thumbs up (to which he responded with a breath of relief, much to Oikawa's confusion) and made no hesitation in dashing back into his sleeping mat.

"Aone—start the CD."

"Got it." Aone pressed down on the play button before sliding into his mat. He pulled the covers of his blanket up to his chest as a soft, melodic tune began emitting from the small radio. Each and every one of the boys shut their eyes.

Just then, after what seemed like forever and a day, the back door had finally opened, two figures emerging from the outside.

The first, with a look of triumph and relief. The other one, of pure bewilderment and surprise.

* * *

><p><strong>＊＊＊<strong>

_'What. Is. **This.**'_

A while ago he was in the passenger seat of Iwaizumi's car waiting to arrive at his first legit job in why felt like eons. He walked in, met the beautiful front desk lady known as—so far, anyway—the lovely Shimizu, and received a list of five names. Five names that would decided if he was worthy of being a responsible, hardworking adult in the world. The world that he had thought so little of as he was on that same court in high school while juggling a small ball back and forth. He put on that _godawful_ apron—that _depressing_, dark green apron—and had a goal in mind.

To ultimately _conquer_ Room 104. To kick Hinata Shouyo off his throne and wallow in his success over these five children.

What he was not expecting was that when he actually stumbled into the room, nobody was even in there. He was not expecting to be assaulted by the numerous amounts of Lego pieces that littered the floor, or the sticky surface of what he **_sincerely_** hoped was apple juice when he put his hand on the counter. He was also not expecting that he would get such a hostile reaction from his tiny audience when he eventually figured out they were outside.

If anything, they were wondering what the hell was going on.

And now _this_. Oikawa wasn't all too sure it this was real, or if they were seriously trying to test him. Nonetheless, his shoulder felt a lot less strained when he place Yachi on the futon closet to the radio. He noticed Tobio tossing in his own futon, hair disheveled across his face.

Meanwhile, Hinata was grinning maniacally. This was one of the most perfected lockdowns he'd ever witnessed in a while. Oikawa glared as he began to snigger to himself. What was even funny, anyway?

"You're going to wake them all up if you continue." He warned, pointing to all five of the _'sleeping'_ children. Though Oikawa couldn't see it in the dark, (save for the light coming from the window) Tetsurou smirked and continued fake-snoring. Aone kept one eye open, but closed it when he noticed Oikawa in his viewing range.

Hinata paid no mind to Oikawa's warning, getting increasingly louder with each word that came out of his mouth.

_'This has to be a test...'_

"But it's _noon_, isn't it? They should probably be _**EATING**_—"

"_Hey_! Don't you know what quiet means?" The brown haired boy hissed. "Or did you just sleep through your exams?"

Hinata lost his careless expression and nearly did a double take. "First things first—how I dealt with my exams is **_none_** of your business. Secondly, if they don't get food now, they might go home hungry."

"What are you even saying right now?"

"I'm saying," the shorter male continued, hand on his heart, "that maybe their only food source is _here_! Maybe for them, this is all they'll be able to get before returning home and starving until the next day comes!"

Then he gestured to Asahi, who had no real intention of sleeping, but he tried not to stir too much. "I mean, look at Asahi here. The little guy—"

"'_Little_'? He's like half your height."

"_**Shut**_ up. Anyway, he probably hates leaving his loving teacher everyday when he returns to nothing but bread and crackers—not even sushi. Doesn't that just..._hurt you_?"

"Heartbreaking, I'm sure," Oikawa deadpanned, beginning to see through Hinata's _more-obvious-than-not-_acting that even people like him could catch up to. "But I'm not risking him being extremely cranky when he wakes up. Or should I say, when he eventually _goes back to sleep."_

Hinata raised a shocked eyebrow, looking down and gaping at the now wide-eyed little kid close to crying his eyes out.

"Tsk, tsk, _'sensei'_," Oikawa sighed, running a hand through his hair. "For a second you almost had me. Emphasis on the _**'second.'**._"

Hinata furrowed his brows in disbelief. Was it that easy to figure out? What had gave him away?

Or better, **_who_** had gave him away...

"Aww, Asahi!" A less than disappointed Tetsurou groaned playfully in the corner. "We were so close too..." Aone gave off an equally playful expression, but said nothing as he stood up from his mat.

"I'm sorry!" Asahi whimpered, hiding his face in his hands. "It's just that when Sensei said I'd go home hungry I got really sad...cause I really like food!"

Oikawa dramatically sighed, walking over to the tearing boy as he kneeled over his sleeping mat in distress.

"Everyone does, Asahi-chan. Which is why I'm not blaming you or your 'sensei' you look up to so much." He chimed, patting the distraught boy's head. Hinata narrowed his eyes at that. Asahi sniffled and looked up at Oikawa's sincere—as far as he could tell—smile.

"It's all simple, really. Your sensei was just distracting me so you guys could start preparing for my _welcome party!_"

"_Welcome patty_?" A now drowsy Tobio mumbled to himself. "What that?"

"Yeah, what's that? I thought we were doing a lockdown." Tetsurou added.

Oikawa silenced both of the boys with a finger pressed to his lips. Hinata rolled his eyes and decided to sit next to Yachi, who was the only one legitimately sleeping.

"Ah, but that's what your sensei _wanted_ you to think. He was really waiting for one of you to tell him that you were ready to surprise me!" The four boys all '_ohhhed_' at this, their attention focused straight onto him.

_'This is easier than I thought! I'll be at the center of their lives if this keeps up!'_

Oikawa couldn't stop grinning as he continued talking. "And since you all did such a wonderful job welcoming my godly presence, I'll award you all with some yummy food!"

_"Yay~!"_ They—except for Aone, who just smiled—all exclaimed, running towards the sink and hogging the soap from each other. Hinata glared at Oikawa when he joined the four at the counter. He watched in silence as they all clung to him like magnets with just a whip of his hair and a smile plastered on his face.

The same smile that, for some reason, felt all too familiar to him.

Yet regardless of whether or not he looked like anyone he should have known of, he was still an enemy on his turf. Room 104 was his kingdom. He, the king, and Oikawa, the cunning, sneaky huntsman he'd read about in stories when he was younger. At some point, Yachi would wake up. At some point, Oikawa would shower her with praise and love as he carried her back and fourth. And at some point, she would grow to distance herself from Hinata. Leaving him alone and forcing him to watch from the sidelines as Oikawa rose to power.

_Oh_, but he would be ready. After all, it would be foolish for the king to go down without a fight.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far! The chapters keep getting longer though, hehe. On another note, are there any headcannons that any of you have for this AU? I have a bunch that are constantly running through my head already, but I'd like to hear some from you too of you have any! Thoughts? Let me know in a review! Also, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving for those who celebrate it!**

**See you!**

**_~Tsuki_**


	5. Yachi's Awakening

**5**

**"_You must give everything to make your life as beautiful as the dreams that dance in your imagination."_**

**-Roman Payne**

**Yachi's Awakening**

* * *

><p>After taking his sweet time to re-introduce himself to the boys, it didn't take them as long as he thought for them to get used to his presence. For once.<p>

He figured at this point that the kids were finally beginning to adjust to him after their little play when he showed up. Asahi was no longer staring at him as if he were a serial killer—instead he simply acknowledged him as any normal human being would. Aone didn't grunt or shrug whenever he asked him questions. Instead he actually responded. And Tetsurou...

Gosh...he didn't even _know_ what was up with him. The kid was practically stoned despite only being six. Or seven, since his birthday had passed not too long ago.

The hardest to crack, however, was Tobio—he was still one hundred percent skeptical of why he was even there in the first place. It took a second helping of milk and chocolate chip cookies—their quote-on-quote-'_healthy snack'_—to finally change his mind. Of course, Hinata didn't approve of it whatsoever. Neither did Tetsurou or Aone.

For people way older than the kid himself, you'd think they were all just naturally jealous. Pathetic as it had sounded, it was probably true.

"Hey you three," he nonchalantly questioned when he noticed the bitter stares boring holes into the back of his head, "why're you all looking so menacingly at me?"

It took a depressing amount if time before either of them had the balls to say anything.

"'Cause there's a rule." Aone suddenly muttered, pointing to his napkin.

"Nobody gets seconds unless Sensei says so." Tetsurou added. Hinata silently nodded, seeing no reason to add anything else. It wasn't like Oikawa would bother listening to him anyway.

"Uh-huh..." He mused, quirking a brow, "But aren't I your sensei too?"

Tetsurou paused while hesitating on his reply, despite already having most of his answers thought up in his head. This was a question that he hadn't thought about yet.

"Well..._yeah_ but—"

"I decided to give Tobio seconds. Because that's what I decided to do. Because I'm your sensei."

Tobio mumbled a 'yeah' through his second cookie, chewing it thoroughly. Crumbs tumbled onto his shirt and stuck to his mouth—milk practically dripping from his chin. The sight was beginning to nauseate Aone, who turned away in disgust.

"Pfft—_please_. Oikawa's just playing favorites, guys," Hinata sniggered from his spot next to Yachi, "_He's still learning, y'know._"

Oikawa threw a mean glare at the redhead—who simply stuck out his tongue in return—before turning his attention back to Tetsurou.

Before he could get one last word out of his mouth, the room was filled with a sound of a long, soft yawn emitting out of nowhere. Everyone blinked and pondered for the source of the sound.

Hinata then looked over his shoulder, finding a tiny girl who had been snoring for over two hours laying in her futon. She was beginning to flutter her eyes open as everyone else crowded around him to see who it was.

"Look! Yachi's up!" Asahi exclaimed, pointing at her.

The others looked over as she lazily rolled off her futon and sat up against Hinata's shoulders, rubbing one of her eye's with a small hand. Oikawa watched as well, equally interested.

To be honest, he felt pretty useless at that moment. In the duration of the whole snack time in which he had to share 'authentic' Japanese takeout(he'd been so busy looking for his keys that he forgot to make his own lunch) with Hinata, he'd been hoping that the girl would wake up sooner or later.

"_Yachi really likes to sleep," he had told him, "She says she gets these dreams that continue almost everyday."_

_"Continue?" Oikawa had asked. "What are they even about?"_

_"Some princess and some princes—I think they're all related..."_

_"...You 'think'? Are you **that** interested?"_

_Hinata snickered. "You'll see."_

A halo of bright auburn hair fell roughly to the lower half of her ears, a small black clip holding back some strands. Her eyes were round and wild—her nose delicate and firm. She was so unknowingly fragile in nature that it was hard to believe that she was stuck in a room with six other boys(not including himself,of course—he was a gentlemen)—all watched over by some puny redhead who probably didn't know a thing about girls, let alone three-year-old angels like Yachi.

"Did you sleep okay?" Hinata asked after a short while, combing through her hair with his fingers.

"Yeah..." she drowsily replied. "I did. But guess what?"

"What?"

"I had a dream."

While everyone else gasped like any child would, Tetsurou looked as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing at all as if he had heard he was getting a cat for Christmas.

"I never get good dreams anymore," Hinata mused to no one in particular. "It's kinda hard to even recall any of them.

Tetsurou pursed his lips. "That's because you're _**old**_, sensei," he blatantly sighed. "_Duh_."

Hinata's face flushed in pure horror and disgust at that. It seemed this was the first time he took that one to the face.

Oikawa couldn't help but stifle a laugh, though. The guy practically deserved it after all he put him through earlier.

"I'm not old, Tetsurou! I'm barely over twenty!" Hinata retorted, making wild gestures toward his face, which was slightly tanned.

"Nah! That's still old!"

"Is _not_!"

Aone rolled his eyes, choosing to ignore the both of them. "I dream about dogs..." he mumbled, ruffling the sleeves of his light blue sweater. To Oikawa, it honestly looked way more fashionable than his ugly old apron.

"I dream about these mermaids that play Monopoly with me," Asahi added, a starstruck expression on his face. Oikawa quirked an uncomfortable at said expression. It was a tad bit too starstruck for his liking. If anything, it was close to creeping the hell out of him.

Those mermaids must've been _pretty_ darned sexy if he was looking like that every time he mentioned them.

'_Bet one of them was Shimizu...'_

"Asahi's dream is lame!" Tetsurou spat. "I'd rather hear Yachi's!"

While both Asahi and Oikawa(though he honestly had no idea why he did it) shot him a pointed glare—because _apparently_ Tetsurou was too cool for sexy mermaids—everyone else agreed. Yachi's face flushed in embarrassment.

"E-Eh...I don't know..."

"Oh c'mon!" Asahi drawled. "Don't be shy!"

"Yeah, I wanna hear it too!" Tetsurou added.

Yachi fidgeted, her hands growing more clammy and nerve-racking by the minute. Puffing up her cheeks, the small group was met with a moment of silence. Meanwhile, Tobio was busy rebuilding his kingdom, this time by using a variety of 2x2 and 4x4 pieces. At first Oikawa thought about tapping his shoulder to pay attention and get with the program already—but at the same time something urged him not to.

_'Maybe he'll just multitask.' _He thought.

"O-okay..." Yachi suddenly whispered, raising her head up. "I'll do it!"

"Yay!"

When she felt she had everyone's attention(after what probably felt like forever), a now alert Yachi decided it was a good time to tell her tale.

_"Once upon a time..."_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hello again, you wonderful readers!****( ^ω^ ). Did you enjoy this chapter?**

**Earlier, an anon had asked me whether I shipped OiHina or not. I couldn't leave the question unanswered(because that's just not who I am ^^;}. But yes, I do—It's one of my platonic ships(along with NishiHina), to be honest.**

**With that said—Thoughts? Let me know in a review!**

**See you!**

**~Tsuki**


	6. Yachi's Extraordinary Dream

**6**

**_"Imagination rules the world."_**

**-Napoleon Bonaparte**

**Yachi's Extraordinary Dream**

* * *

><p><strong>Previously...<strong>

_"**E-Eh...I don't know..."**_

_**"Oh c'mon!" Asahi drawled. "Don't be shy!"**_

_**"Yeah, I wanna hear it too!" Tetsurou added.**_

_**Yachi fidgeted, her hands growing more clammy and nerve-racking by the minute. Puffing up her cheeks, the small group was met with a moment of silence. Meanwhile, Tobio was busy rebuilding his kingdom, this time by using a variety of 2x2 and 4x4 pieces. At first Oikawa thought about tapping his shoulder to pay attention and get with the program already—but at the same time something urged him not to.**_

_**'Maybe he'll just multitask.' He thought.**_

_**"O-okay..." Yachi suddenly whispered, raising her head up. "I'll do it!"**_

_**"Yay!"**_

_**When she felt she had everyone's attention(after what probably felt like forever), a now alert Yachi decided it was a good time to tell her tale.**_

_**"Once upon a time..."**_

* * *

><p>Once upon a time, there was a family of four princes and one princess. They all lived in some castle in a sea of whipped cream and PopTart dolphins. It was guarded by a moat made of milk bread and peach fuzz.<p>

* * *

><p>"Are you the princess, Yachi?" Asahi asked out of nowhere, startling both her and the others before she could even get another word out of her mouth.<p>

"Dang it, Asahi," Tetsurou groaned. "She's not even at the good part yet!"

"What?! I was just asking!" Asahi retorted back, holding his hands up.

"Hey now," Oikawa interjected before Asahi or Tetsurou said anything else. "Don't you two wanna hear the rest of the dream?" He asked, pointing at an irritated Yachi. She hated being interrupted.

Glancing at each other briefly, both boys slowly nodded.

"Good. Then let's let Yachi-chan continue her story! Go ahead!" He chimed, waving off at the little girl now slumped in Hinata's lap.

Yachi blinked at him, both surprised and relieved that she could finally continue her story. She had no idea who Oikawa was at that moment—but she didn't have the patience to ask.

* * *

><p>As long as she could remember, princess Yachi—as that was her name—was always playing inside with the other princes. Her daddy always told her that the outside was a very bad place, the reason being unknown. But she saw it as an adventure.<p>

Because she really wanted to go outside, just to see what it was like. One of the princes said she'd see a flying Twinkie in the sky. Another said that she should listen to her dad and stay inside. But that prince was a party pooper by heart, so she didn't really listen to him all that much.

So she made it her ultimate goal to go outside. Whether her family liked it or not.

One day while the princes were playing in the royal playroom, princess Yachi saw this as her first opportunity at reaching the door, which was conveniently not all that far away at all.

When she was completely positive that they weren't looking, princess Yachi took this as her cue to make a beeline for the door.

However.

The youngest prince, with short black hair and bright blue eyes, noticed her tiny figure tip-toeing towards the exit of the playroom. One thing about the youngest prince was that he really liked playing with his blocks. Usually Yachi would come by and play with him whenever he spotted her.

But he also noticed something off about the little princess. She looked as if she wasn't even thinking about calling his name and asking for him to scoot over on the large rug he played on at all. Turning around to get a closer look, he saw that her eyes were completely set on the door.

The door to the outside.

"Oi!" He shouted, startling the girl and made her freeze in place. "Where're you going?"

Yachi took a heavy sigh, turning around in her stance and facing the rosy-cheeked little boy.

"I'm going outside...that's all." She whispered so the other princes wouldn't be able to hear her.

The youngest prince scoffed. "Why does Yachi wanna go outside so bad? The outside boring!" He nagged. "Stay inside and play with me instead!"

Reluctantly, the girl closed the door and stayed inside, stacking blocks with the blue eyed prince. She went to bed that night with a frown on her face.

The very next day, the boring princes were still being their normal boring selves. Princess Yachi wanted to try going outside. Again! She really hated staying inside all the time.

This time, the eldest prince—with curved, cat-like eyes and a sly smile—saw her attempting to tip-toe towards the door and purred,

"Oho! Where are you going, Yachi-chan?"

"N-Nowhere!" She stuttered, swiveling around in surprise. She faced the eldest prince with a pink tinted face. How had she been caught now?

"I think you're going outside—aren't you?"

Yachi hesitated. She never liked telling the eldest prince things that she didn't want him to know about. Especially about her going outside.

But at this point, it was obvious to both her and the prince that lying was futile, and that no matter what she tried to say—he wouldn't believe a single word of it.

She slowly nodded.

The eldest prince shook his head. "There's nothing fun out there!" He laughed, extending his hand to the princess. "Why don't you stay inside and dance with me instead?"

Reluctantly, the princess—once again—closed the door and stayed inside, dancing(read: stumbling) with the eldest prince. She went to bed disappointed, but not in a bad way.

The next day after _that_ episode, Princess Yachi was beginning to get restless. She still didn't know why the princes weren't letting her go outside. Even the eldest prince, who was the sneakiest of them all, told her to stay away from that stupid door.

Just what was behind it, anyway?

Nonetheless, she still wanted to know. And when the princes were at play and no one in sight, Yachi decided to once again make a run for the door.

However, the second-oldest prince, who was very tall but clumsy and unruly, saw the little girl in the corner of his eye. He was playing Monopoly by himself—which for him was considered normal—when he could hear her trying to turn the knob. She had just recently eaten a lollipop and had sticky hands, making it hard for her to get a good grip. The sound nearly startled the prince.

He cried,

_"H-Hey_! Don't do that!"

Yachi could almost hear herself growl when she reluctantly let go of the knob, turning to the second eldest prince. She did not reply when he asked her what she was doing, and she didn't stop when he said to. She simply stomped all the way to her room and buried herself in the covers.

There were no windows in any of her and the princes' rooms. Instead, there were dozens of lights and lanterns of all shapes and sizes—some colossal, some tiny, some wide, some thin—that decorated each and every space that was inside the castle.

Yachi had no idea what life outside the castle was like. She never even stepped one foot outside of it, that was for sure. The only one who did was her dad, and even he wouldn't dare tell her about the door.

_"It's because of the outside_," he once told her, "_that you are the only one I have left."_

It was weird of him to say those kind of things to her—cause gosh, she was only three—but at the same time, she kind of understood.

The outside was dangerous. But Yachi didn't mind. She wanted to see more than just the brown and purple scribbles of what the eldest prince called 'trees'. Instead of stacking blocks with the youngest prince, she wanted to see one in real life—ones that didn't tip over after the third block and fall down.

Was that world even real? Was she even real? She couldn't tell. But something also told her not to try and figure it out.

She went to bed unhappy that night.

* * *

><p>"...And that's all I remember."<p>

Aone and Asahi stared in amazement when she had finished, clearly disappointed when she couldn't recall anything else from her dream.

Tobio remained neutral, partially glad it was over, and partially frustrated over the fact that he was playing with simple blocks.

Tetsurou, on the other hand—for obvious reasons—began batting his eyelashes in adoration.

"Hehe! Yachi-chan dreamed about me! And we were dancing~!" He gasped, dramatically swooning. "Tell me—was I totally handsome and cool?"

Yachi suppressed a surprised squeal as she began to glow in embarrassment.

"I dunno! C-cool?"

Tetsurou pumped his fist into the air, boldly waving it in Hinata's face.

"Oi! You hear that, sensei? Yachi thinks I'm cool. Maybe even...awesome."

"Tetsurou, please..." Hinata groaned, rolling his eyes.

She dreamed about Tobio too, ya know," Asahi added. "Not just you and me!" He was seemingly unhappy at the ending, and didn't feel Tetsurou's whole parade of she-totally-thinks-I'm-the-shit all that reassuring.

Tetsurou simply stuck out his tongue, crossing his arms across his chest in defense.

"Please, you both just got lucky that time. But believe me—when I grow up, Yachi's totally gonna fall for me."

Hinata face palmed, patting Yachi's halo of hair. She was still turning red and had to hide her face.

"You're not even close to 'grown up'.

"_Whateeeevvvverrr_!" Tetsurou slurred.

Oikawa just snickered. he still couldn't believe the fact that he was still even functioning in the place at all, let alone being able to witness firsthand about all the stupidity and pure weirdness of Room 104. He wasn't so certain that he wanted to take over as fast as he had wanted to.

The small analog clock hovering by the door read one-thirty.

Sooner or later the kids would be picked up by their parents. They'd pack up their belongings, say goodbye, and walk out of the daycare and drive away in their parents' cars. Oikawa would then have to try to get ahold of Iwaizumi—who apparently had gotten a 'promotion' from the popcorn machines to the actual ticket booth—as fast as he could before he had another one of his man periods and bitch his ear off.

Until then...

It would be a long day.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Surprise~! An early one just for you! ε-(´∀｀; ) Things'll be picking up and more characters will be introduced in the next few chapters, so I hope you're ready! Also, t****hank you all for your reviews, follows, and faves so far! I really appreciate it! **

**Thoughts? I think you know the drill by now :).**

**See you!**

**_~Tsuki_**


	7. After Hours: The Surprise

**7**

"**_Everything in life is somewhere else, and you get there in a car."_**

**-E. B. White**

**After Hours: The Surprise**

* * *

><p>If one had ever asked Oikawa if he thought he could survive a whole day in a tiny daycare with the 'help' of a pint-sized redhead, he probably would've said no.<p>

But to his surprise—and everyone else's too—the day ended with an unexpected, yet satisfying victory.

He played, he danced and sung—he even gave Aone(who was _insanely_ adorable when he got nervous asking for things) piggyback rides, in which he was terrified for his life and hid his face in his shirt. Yachi mostly hid from the brunette and practically made it her ultimate goal in completely avoiding him. Not that he didn't mind. It still kind of sucked though.

He also didn't find it hard at all when it came to remembering the kids names. If anything, it was kinda hard not to.

Tetsurou was the first to go home—his mom had a very lengthy, whole-hearted conversation with Hinata like she usually did(turns out she was just as loony as her son). It was obvious she couldn't stay in the lobby forever, so she was escorted out by the redhead before her husband got suspicious.

Asahi and Tobio were next. Their parents were equally surprised when Oikawa obnoxiously waved at them before they came into the room. Hinata brushed him aside in annoyance.

After a short yet _oh-so-**very-**important _introduction of himself, they had seemed accustomed to the boy already. Except for Tobio's mom though, who just whispered to Hinata to '_keep a close eye on him'._

Finally, Aone and Yachi's parents came. Usually, Aone's mom would come by and pick him up, but today it was his aunt. To Oikawa, Yachi's family(represented by her dad)seemed pretty close to Shimizu. Her dad glanced at the brunette for a split second. Oikawa noticed the dark circles under his eyes and his mopey expression. It made him feel strangely uneasy—there would have had to have been a reason for that, right?—but he disregarded his short observation.

For _now_.

When the clock finally chimed at five-thirty, Hinata absentmindedly left the playroom to turn in his apron. Oikawa almost instantly followed in suit, feeling incredibly relieved to finally getting the chance to take off the hideous garment. It took him at least ten whole minutes of readjusting the damage it did to his shirt collar and sleeves before he causally waltzed into the lobby. He saw both Hinata—who now seemed to be digging for something in his shoulder bag—and Shimizu, who was packing all her mounds of paper in her satchel. The amount that was there before seemed to triple over the course of his first day.

'_Poor Shimizu.._.' He thought.

"Ah! Here they are!" he heard Hinata mutter to himself in relief, holding up jingling car keys in the air.

Hm.

'_Strange...I feel like I should be remembering something...'_

He kept thinking until the events of that same morning flashed through his mind.

_'Oh yeah...'_

_..._

* * *

><p>"Hey, Shimizu-san!" Hinata chimed, glancing towards the older girl. "You interested in tagging along with me to the mall? I'm meeting someone there."<p>

At this, Oikawa raised his eyebrows. He didn't think of Hinata as the indirect type when he asked someone out. At least, that was what he _thought_ was going on. And even if he did, he wasn't planning on being his audience. Regardless, the girl hesitantly shook her head, deeming to have replied to this question more than enough times. Oikawa didn't know if that was good or bad.

"Sorry...I'm afraid I'll be too busy tonight."

Hinata nodded in disappointment. "Aw. That's fine with me. But I don't know how _he'll_ take it though..." He replied, a smug smile slowing etching itself upon his face.

Shimizu blinked in embarrassment, much to Oikawa's surprise. Did she always do that?

"I know, I know. _Unfortunately_..."

"Don't worry about it, though! Maybe tomorrow or something!"

"I'll try."

"Okay then! See ya later, Shimizu!" Hinata finally concluded, waving his hand in the air while heading to the front door.

She faintly waved back as well, watching him open the door and close it just as fast.

Right when he did, other workers started to slowly file out as well. Oikawa didn't think there was so many people in one tiny place like this, but apparently he was dead wrong. Some were in a hurry and had to be out of there asap. Others weren't all that in a rush and sometimes stopped to chat before they left.

And there were some, just like him, who sat outside the parking lot waiting for someone to give them a lift. Unfortunately for him, Iwaizumi still hadn't notified that he would show up—what a jerk—even after Oikawa spammed him almost every five minutes.

He felt like one of those kids in school who was usually the one who had to wait for his parents to pick him up an hour after the dismissal bell rang. It was not a good feeling whatsoever.

So to pass the time, he continued observing the other workers who were still walking out the door. It was only a quarter past six.

One of them—the only one who really caught his eye, to be honest—came from the opposite direction of Room 104. The brunette deemed this as the 'infant area'. He mentally sighed at the thought. After all, she _was_ pretty hot...

_...Ahem._

Anyway—she had long, shiny blonde hair that tumbled down to her elbows and light, hazel eyes hidden behind a pair of small, black spectacles. She was also sickeningly tall—probably the Statue of Liberty compared to Hinata. Her fashion sense, though? Hella simple. A plain white t-shirt, black jeans, and converse sneakers was all she wore. He hoped that wasn't all she had, though.

As if his timing couldn't have gotten any worse, she caught Oikawa practically drooling at her. She grimaced as he had smirked.

"What's it to you, _noob_? Quit staring." She spat, eyeing the boy with a mean glare.

Oikawa laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Nothing much, at the moment. But a cutie like yourself shouldn't be greeting people so coldly."

The woman scrunched up her face in disgust. "A creep like you shouldn't be staring at people so hard."

"Ah. Touché. But it's kinda hard to do even that when you are already _so_ very pretty—it's practically an instinct."

She rolled her eyes and brushed some of the hair that fell on her face behind her ear. "If this is your way of trying to get to know me, it's not working."

"Why so serious?"

"Why so _annoying_?"

The two carried this on for quite a bit—her flinging insult after insult, and he returning the favor with a smug retort. Shimizu sighed at the both of them. It was clear that this wasn't going to end anytime soon. To her, it was best to end it now before it got any more hectic.

"Keiko-san...you shouldn't stay here to long, " she called to the blonde before suddenly bringing it to a low whisper, "_Your appointment is today, isn't it?"_

Keiko's irritated expression softened at this, her free hand slightly moving towards her stomach. "Not exactly. I still have an hour."

"Still. You should be there early."

Pursing her lips, she sighed.

"Y-Yeah...I guess."

With a short nod, Keiko turned away and left the lobby onto the walkway towards the parking lot. Oikawa would have been lying if he said didn't feel a bit lost at that. As far as he could tell, Shimizu knew about everyone. How much she knew, he didn't know. He kinda didn't _want_ to, either.

"So Oikawa-kun," the girl called, adjusting the strap on her bag, "Will you be leaving soon?"

Oikawa blinked, realizing that he was being asked a question. "A-Ah, yeah! Not yet though, I'm waiting for a friend."

_The same '**friend**' who won't respond to my messages..._

"I see. It was nice meeting you today, by the way."

_"O-Oh?" _The brunette sputtered, feeling his cheeks warm. "Y-yeah, same to you." He mentally cringed. This was not going as well as he wanted to. This was also the first time he had ever heard his own voice crack in a while.

"Is this your first time working?"

Oikawa hesitated, his hands growing clammy. "_Well_..."

_Yes. I am literally so unemployable because nobody appreciates me._

"...Technically."

"Oh. That's too bad. You're such a natural at this, anyway."

Inner Oikawa—the more goofy, embarrassing side of him—would have squealed and hug the living daylights of Shimizu for that. In other words, Inner Oikawa was basically a huge dork.

Outer Oikawa—the normal, smug half— would just smile and thank her. He was way too cool for compliments anyway.

"Why, thank you. It's not common for others to notice my...superior skills in child care." He replied, the crack in his voice even more noticeable now.

Shimizu gave him a puzzled expression at that. A part of Oikawa wanted to cry in a corner, and the other could've collapsed on the spot. Did he even have to explain why?

Humiliating yourself in front of a possible-maybe-never-say-never-crush. _Check_.

Voice cracking? _Check_.

"Wow, and I thought I was embarrassing. You guys done yet?"

The two in question jumped at the sudden voice coming from the entrance.

They quickly frowned when Hinata's ridiculously(seriously, it wouldn't hurt the guy if he could use a brush every once in a while) unkept orange hair peeking in from the crack in the door. It glowed in the afternoon sun.

The other boy could feel his cheeks burn. Trust Hinata to ruin his little chat with the bespectacled beauty (not like it was going anywhere, though) just with his presence. Nonetheless, Oikawa kept his obvious dismay to himself. He had better things to do anyway.

Like asking Hinata what the _hell_ he was even doing, spying on him like that. Who did he think he was, _James Bond?_

"What're you still doing here, Shou-chan? Didn't you leave like what, thirty minutes ago?"

Hinata walked back into the lobby and leaned against the door.

"I was waiting, for your information," he retorted, rolling his eyes impatiently. "And you're taking too long!"

Oikawa shot a questioning look at him. Since when did it matter to him how much time he took leaving? Shimizu clearly saw no problem with it. As far as he knew, he was getting closer to first base than before.

Pfft—okay, _that_ was a lie. But still. There had to be something the guy had planned.

_Unless..._

_...Oh **god**..._

"...Who exactly are you waiting for?"

Biting his lip, Hinata pointed outside, as if hiding some sort of surprise. Oikawa didn't like the sound of that. Neither did Shimizu, who seemingly already knew what the redhead had up his sleeve.

"You'll see!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I remember reading my first fanfiction—Such a life-changing experience, isn't it?—a long time ago, and I was never much of a fan of cliffhangers. But now I write them all the time XD. Also, thank you all so much for this story reaching 1K views! That means a lot to me! :) Part II is next!**

**See you!**

**_~Tsuki_**


	8. After Hours: Bonding(?)

**8**

"_**When you choose your friends, don't be short-changed by choosing personality over character."**_

**-Somerset Maugham**

**After Hours: Bonding(?)**

* * *

><p>"I'll be seeing you both tomorrow, I guess."<p>

"_Y-Yeah. _See ya…"

Oikawa had never felt so miserable in his life. His possible-maybe-never-say-never-crush was now walking away to her car in the parking lot. The sun was now setting, and the slew of passing vehicles driving down the road and back were increasing in numbers. There was so much more he could have said to her! Though most of it would've sounded better in his head, leaving it so awkward and one-sided—_thanks_, Hinata—nearly broke his poor heart. Meanwhile, the pint-sized terror was staring at him with a smug grin. What did he even get out of all this, anyway?

"I'll take you home, if you want," he offered, gesturing to the large van—he really hoped he wasn't looking at a goddamn _van—_in the corner of the lot. "I think it'll be fun!"

Oikawa was honestly expecting Hinata to have at least a little class. You know, the kind of class that doesn't force you to ride in a car that looked fifty years older than its owner. But_ noooo_—this guy wasn't fooling anyone. The van was dark blue and had highly tinted windows. They were so well tinted that he could barely even get a good view of what was inside at all. Maybe Hinata was some sort of drug dealer and hid it all in a secret compartment under the seat somewhere.

_...I need to go to bed more often…_

As much as he figured that he hated his guts, Oikawa was still incredibly skeptical of Hinata. Whose side was he really on, anyway? First he tried to trick him into thinking the kids were asleep. Then he made up for that by sharing part of his lunch with him. Then, he ruined his moment—or encounter, to put it accurately—with Shimizu. And now, he wants to_ drive him home, _of all things! And plus, he somehow knew that he had no ride. Talk about stalker.

Yet at the same time, he had still wanted to rejoice at this random, almost cruel act of kindness towards someone he had a growing grudge against. It was like a moment in which your parents asked you if you wanted to stay home from school—_you don't decline the offer whatsoever._

"Shimizu told me after lunch," The redhead instantly responded as if reading his mind(or the incredulous look on his face at his van). "She had noticed that you had gotten out of someone else's car when you came."

That made him furrow his brows in confusion. "But how? When I came in, she was sitting at her desk. And the window is across the entrance."

"Don't ask me, man. She has eyes like a _hawk_."

_I knew it._

"...Well, I don't see why not. Thanks, I guess." He opened the passenger side of the vehicle—_god_, he was such a moocher—in seconds before Hinata stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Nah, save it till seven. We're going to the mall first!"

…

…_**What.**_

* * *

><p>Oikawa would have been lying if he said he hadn't been thinking about a large quantity of unnecessary <em>'out-of-context<em>' thoughts when Hinata practically shoved him into the van he'd been so desperately trying to avoid. Ironically, the inside of it wasn't as that horrendous as he had guessed. The seats felt fuzzy and warm, and the air conditioner blew off a cool, refreshing breeze. However...there was still a problem with all this.

He was now apparently going _shopping. _Not that he didn't like buying things, though—that was an understatement. It was the fact that he bought _too _much stuff that he usually never needed in his life(Cause who really needs a Segway if they don't even get out of the house) that was the problem. And usually, it ended up with him begging for more cash from Iwaizumi or his mom—but she was already so done with him that she basically left money on his doorstep. It was sad, really.

_Anyway…_

"It's literally a Monday night," He muttered while running his hands through his hair(which was incredibly sweaty for some reason—ew), "Can't this wait till Friday or something?"

Hinata raised a brow, but avoided glancing at him. He didn't seem to like that suggestion all that much. "Why not now?" he shrugged.

_You've got to be kidding me._

"Well gee,_ I don't know_. Maybe it's because that's the day where we don't have to _work _the next morning."

"Why're you so tense? I thought people like you didn't care about stuff like that."

'_People like me'?_ "You thought wrong, then_**. I wanna go home."**_

The redhead snickered under his breath. "_Wow._ Who are you? Tobio?" Oikawa shot him a childish glare, as if completely offended.

"Don't compare me to a little three-year-old!" he retorted. "I'm_ very_ mature, unlike _you_!"

"Oh _sure_ you are. My apologies."

"You're a real jerk, you know that?"

"_What_? And I was_ just _about to say the same thing to you! Glad we could agree on something!"

This conversation was beginning to get him nowhere. Oikawa needed some damn answers already. "Will you at least tell me why we're going to the mall right now?" he tried. Hinata simply shrugged in response.

"No can do."

The older boy sputtered in surprise. He really wasn't going to tell him, wasn't he? "What do you mean, 'no can do'? Are we window shopping or what?"

"Not exactly…" The male muttered, puffing his cheeks. "Let's just say… that I come here for..._personal_ reasons."

_Personal reasons? _The brunette instantly thought back to his Shou-chan-is-a-drug-dealer theory. It didn't seem so irrational the more he thought about it. Maybe he stood outside on the benches and let the pure scent of marijuana take him to his _customers. _

He never actually realized that he voiced these thoughts aloud. Hinata gaped at him in pure shock. He nailed him hard in the arm.

"You're so _mean,_ you know that! Why would I want to sell drugs?! I don't even smoke!"

Oikawa rubbed his now throbbing arm. The weird thing about it was that it actually, genuinely hurt. How hard could the guy hit? "It just came out, okay?! Don't look at me like that!"

"You just accused me of breaking the law. How can I not?"

Oikawa rolled his eyes. If it wasn't drugs that Hinata was after, then what was it? There had to be some sort of reason as to why he of all people would force him to come to the mall without being as so much as an acquaintance to him. Not even first time friends would do that. As if that wasn't any more confusing, Hinata _was _the one who didn't even dare tell him the reason why they were even going to the mall in the first place. One would be suspicious as to why he never said anything earlier.

_Unless…_

"Is it a girl?"

Hinata blinked in surprise, his face growing a deep red color. "What? N-No!"

_Dang it._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Old Man Hibachi Bistro<strong>_

_**6:45 pm**_

_"Oi! Nishinoya!"_

The boy snapped his head up in surprise, nearly dropping one of the plates he was washing in the process. That had probably been the longest he had ever actually tried to take his job seriously that night. But _of course_, that old sourpuss had to ruin it.

_The hell does he want now?_

"_Yeah, yeah._ I'm coming." Dropping the dishrag back in the sink, Nishinoya wiped his hands on a nearby towel hanging on the wall by a metal hook. Adjusting the collar of his shirt, he made his way to the back of the restaurant, due to the sudden roar of his boss—who for some dumb reason just liked being called Boss—screaming for him as the day winded down to almost seven o'clock at night. Nishinoya had still never heard of a place opening so late at night when most went to bed or just stayed home. On a Monday night, no less. It was one of those rare times he wished he was still in school. Sleep hadn't been much of a best friend to him lately. The most he would sleep was around four or five hours and spend the time he was awake eating takeout and watching random shit on TV before he'd have to get ready later that evening. And it was only on certain Mondays in which he actually had visitors he knew of. Hinata, for example.

He hadn't seen him in so long the last time he had stopped by last fall! He still had that unwavering halo of orange hair, but he also began to carry a more mature, casual look. It was still a mystery as to why nobody swept him off his feet yet.

…_Heh. Short joke…  
><em>

"Ugh_, Nishinoya_! Will you hurry it up already? I don't have all year, dammit!"

"Alright, alright! Calm down!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey guys! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! (And all those other wonderful little holidays the rest of you celebrate as well! ^^) I was very busy for the last few days, Eso I hardly had the time to get this finished. Now, this may feel like a filler chapter, but that's kinda what I was going for anyway. This was originally about 2,000 words but I cut a lot of the content to save for the next update. Can't spoil everything all at once, right? Part III is next~!**

**Thoughts? Let me know!**

**See you in 2015! **

_**~Tsuki**_

_**EDIT 1/1/15: Happy New Year, everyone! I may or may not be updating next week, so don't be too sad when you don't get an alert from this story this Sunday. But don't worry! I'll update as soon as I possibly can! Bye! :)**_


	9. After Hours:Destination

**9_"_**

**_'__So, what's it like in the real world?' Well, the food is better, but beyond that, I don't recommend it."_**

**-Bill Waterson**

**After Hours: Destination**

* * *

><p>"I do like this shirt...but at the same time, I <em>also<em> like _this_ shirt..."

"The only difference is the color—that's not much of a decision."

Hinata rolled his eyes, thrusting one of the shirts he was holding towards Oikawa's chest. "You're a terrible shopper. And by the way, you look cool with blue."

Oikawa raised a brow, taking the garment into his own hands. "This isn't even blue. It's _indigo_."

"_Same thing._"

Being dragged into the mall was one of the many things Hinata had done to Oikawa. The other thing was having to travel to a million stores and window shop as if time didn't even exist. _Sure_, there were a few—read _a lot_—things he had seen that he honestly wanted to buy right off of the display. But he also knew that he couldn't spend his money no matter what. The boy didn't want a repeat of last time when he maxed out Iwaizumi's credit card(don't ask how—the pain itself was memorable enough).

_I wonder what he's doing, anyway..._

"Aren't you getting hungry by now?" He grunted at the redhead. "We've been walking around for _hours_._"(A__nd sticking around in Macy's isn't helping at all...)_Hinata glanced at the older male, his expression on the edge of completely amused. He simply shrugged.

That was what he had been doing a lot lately, actually. And of course, it pissed Oikawa off to no end.

"It's only been forty-five minutes—what's the rush?"

"What do you mean, _'It's only been'?_ Im starving!"

"The food court _is_ on the other side of the mall. We'll get there, eventually."

_Eventually?_

Oikawa glared at Hinata, who was still smirking at him from afar. That _gross_, disgusting little smirk. As much as he hated to admit it though, it did remind him of how much he did the same thing when he was hanging out with Iwaizumi.

_Any more of this and I'll get wrinkles on my forehead..._

"You did this on _purpose_, didn't you? You parked on this side just so you could torment me!"

Hinata ran his hand through his hair, as if he had nothing to say to that. What would he have said, anyway? It was already pretty obvious by now.

"And by torment, you mean by getting you a new wardrobe."

_You little—_

"_Me_?! Look at _**you**_!"

"What about me? I think I look pretty stylish, don't ya think?"

"You're literally the definition of a scarecrow. If anybody looks fabulous, it's _me_!"

"Mhm, I'm sure you do."

"What's with all the sarcasm today? You're just hating on me because you know it's true, don't you?"

"Whatever floats your boat."

"_Ugh_—you're completely hopeless!" The brunette groaned, gripping part of his hair in frustration.

He never did realize how loud he had said this till after Hinata tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey,_ Oinky,_" Hinata chimed, glancing over to the section of the store across from the pair. "You got people staring now..."

_Wha—_

When '_Oinky_'—much to his displeasure—looked around again, he was met with the bewildered stares and gaping mouths of other customers in the store. Not even his forced smile and handsome winks could save him the embarrassment of being walked away from in public.

"_What a degrading man_," they had whispered, "_insulting that poor boy like that_."

_**Boy? Try spawn of Satan.**_

_"I _know!_ And you'd think he'd be a role model for our generation! How disappointing."_

_**I am a wonderful role model!**_

"Hm. It's almost eight, so we should probably go," Hinata nonchalantly murmured to himself, ignoring Oikawa's inner battle with society to look at his phone in thought.

"You coming, Oinky?" Hinata groaned, waving him over after walking a whole foot in front of him. Oikawa scrunched up his face in disgust.

"Call me that one more time," He seethed, "And I'll start calling you _grandpa_."

The redhead's eye twitched. "You _wouldn't_."

"_I would."_

* * *

><p><strong>Old Man Hibachi Bistro<strong>

**7:54 pm**

The sounds of clinking plates and running sinks became more frequent in Akira Hibachi's ears as he continued to feel more dazed in his chair just looking around his office for the hundredth time.

One would say that he, with his still graying hair and weak eyesight, was getting way too old for this. But he didn't mind all that much.

He did mind the fact that that blasted waiter still hadn't shown up at his door yet. Even after calling for him for the umpteenth time that same hour, he still saw no sign of him coming in anytime soon.

He was about to shout louder this time for him again, until the door—finally—burst open, a boy with a halo of matted, black hair and a blonde tuft that fell over his forehead emerging into the inside.

"I'm here, Boss." He panted, brushing off his pants(Which for some reason had flour stuck to it), lazily glancing over at the old man sulking in his chair in the far back of the office.

He was greeted with a gritty frown and crossed arms. "About time, dammit. Now sit."

"Got it, Boss." He muttered, almost instantly sitting in one of the cherrywood chairs in front of the old man's desk. He—as usual—didn't seem so happy as of late. "What can I do for you?"

"A lot of things, actually." Akira replied bitterly, "But for now, you're here because of the events that took place last week. I believe both you _and_ Hishida-san you know what I'm talking about."

"Hishida?" Nishinoya asked, scratching his head. "He's been out sick for a while."

"Really now? For how long?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders. "For about a month, I think."

"Uh-huh. So if he _was_ gone that long, then why did I see you _and_ him dowsing a whole jug of water on everybody like immature idiots?"

Nishinoya was taken aback, though mentally laughed to himself as the memory of him and the bespectacled boy(who was already listed as another one of his disciples) splashing water all over the other employees. Their shocked, bewildered faces were all too much for him.

In fact, Hinata had been there that same night, but had to leave early to pick up his sister from some band concert or something. _School stuff, _he had thought.

"It wasn't that bad, though!" He snickered. "I mean, they all kinda deserved it anyway. Especially Maki-san—did you know that she tried to dunk over me the other day? So unladylike, am I right?"

Akira scowled, the wrinkles on his face becoming more crease and firm as he continued to stare at Nishinoya. Or what he thought was Nishinoya—he honestly lost track of who he was talking to as he continued to ramble about God knows what.

"Hishida-san is probably—or was, anyway—the only employee here that wasn't corrupted by your foolish antics." Here, the elderly man pointed to himself. "I've had to deal with you for two years already. You're lucky I haven't kicked you out yet."

"Oh, Boss! Don't be like that! You haven't fired me yet because you I'm your only source of happiness!"

Akira heaved a heavy sigh. "Define 'happiness'."

"Think about it sir," The waiter chimed, pointing to himself. "If it weren't for me, you'd be bored as hell in here. I'm the only one you really yell at, anyway."

"That's because you're the only one who won't bother listening to me." He quickly retorted, rolling his eyes. "Anyway...that brings me to the second reason as to why you're here."

"Really? What is it?"

Darting his eyes back and fourth as if making sure nobody else was there, Akira leaned in close to Nishinoya. The scent of hard liquor and body cologne practically filled the waiter's nose.

"I hear that there's going to be a_ new _restaurant," he whispered, "It's being built a few stories down from us."

At this, Nishinoya perked up, brushing away at his black locks. This was a lot more intriguing compared to the man's usual rants on whatever the occasion called for.

"_Really_? Is it the same as ours?"

"Not even _close_. You do know how this bistro is built upon quality, no?"

"Quality of the finest, right? Yeah, pretty sure I've heard _that one_ before."

"_Very funny_. But like I was saying. Their meaning of quality is..._**drastically**_ different from ours."

Nishinoya pursed his lips. "So, like a fast food joi—" the boy couldn't even get the rest of his sentence out as Akira gripped his hands(that were pretty much the size of his own face) on his shoulders tightly, as if daring him to try and wriggle out of his grasp.

"_Don't_. Please."

"Don't what, Boss? Oh, and would you mind loosening your grip, you're kinda crushing my shoulders."

The old man blinked in confusion, before noticing Nishinoya's face nearly blanching. Unfortunately, Akira was one of those people who often didn't realize their own strength till the person in question actually said something about it. It was embarrassing, to be honest.

"My apologies." He muttered, now letting go of his shoulders. "But if you can, please refrain from mentioning '_fast food_' around a poor old soul like myself."

"But you're like, _fifty_. That's not all that old."

"Don't question it, alright? Just the thought of all the grease and processed meat just irks me to no end."

"I feel ya, Boss."

The old man blinked, pushing up his dark spectacles on the bridge of his nose. "I'm surprised you see it the same way. But it is one of the reasons why I chose you for this rather..._important_ task."

Nishinoya felt his eyes widen.

_I'm listening..._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Food Court, Floor One<strong>_

_**8:01 pm**_

"We're here, pretty boy."

Oikawa rolled his eyes, overjoyed that he could finally stop walking for once and actually take in his surroundings. The thirty minutes he spent going from one floor to the next(and another from getting lost) was thirty minutes of precious sleep that he would miss tonight. _If_ he didn't pass out before he even had a chance to go back home. The latter was most likely going to happen.

"Hey, what's up with you? You look pale."

"Calm down, I'm just trying to catch my breath."

Hinata quirked a brow. "Already? How much sleep do you usually get?"

"_Beats me._ Can we go inside now?"

"_Alright, alright_. Chill."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I don't know how long I'll be able to keep this cliffhanger game up XD. On another note, I'd like to thank you all for getting this story over 1,200 views!(I'm still shocked as to why people still read this). I really appreciate it! **

**Thoughts? Let me know! **

**See you!**

**_~Tsuki_**


	10. After Hours: Hello

_**10**_

_"__**I like to think of myself as a mystery, and everyone else is trying to figure out what the hell is going on with me."**_

_**-Anonymous **_

_**After Hours: Hello**_

_***Note: The first half of this chapter will be in first person; I think you'll be able to figure out who it is :)**_

* * *

><p><em>Iwa-channnn pls help me<em>

**_Wtf are you bitching about now_**

_I'm trapped. _

**_? _**

_I'm trapped in a mall with a huge meanie from hell. I'm about to eat in this bistro place or whatever (Attachment: 1 image)but you need to come right now so I can escape and go home_

_..._

**_...are you fucking kidding me rn _**

_What? I'm serious! _

**_No the fuck you're not ok _**

**_While my day was literal shit you're over here about to stuff yourself at some goddamn expensive ass restaurant _**

**_Meanwhile I ate fucking jumbo fries and a cheeseburger _**

_But I didn't want to_

**_And? Quit complaining all the time at least you get quality food dammit. Plus whoever that 'meanie' is is one nice motherfucker cause lets be real here_**

_What?_

_**You are one hell of a bitch baby**._

* * *

><p><em>...<em>

Out of all the things Iwa-chan could've possibly insulted me with, 'bitch baby' was probably the worst, even for him.

I mean, since when did I act so childish? I had a job! I had money—sort of—and I had a good year so far! That screams '_totally mature_' to me. I knew for a fact that I wasn't the same guy I was back then. Even though I did drop from volleyball after graduation, I was kinda glad I decided against going pro. My knee had become increasingly painful, and the supporters didn't help much at that point. My mom even suggested(out of the blue; unfortunately) that I would have to get it amputated if I kept it up.

...But enough about my knee, that's _really_ not all that important right now. Neither is my life story in general, but whatever. There were more..._life-threatening _things at hand.

"Why the long face, Oink-a-doink?"

...

..._Ugh_.

Yeah, that guy. _Hinata_. The demon that tortures me though random acts of kindness. And his _nicknames_ for me—**_god_**, don't even get me started on those _atrocious_ things—they were so incredibly cringeworthy that I actually had to keep myself from screaming.

We were sitting in one of the tables in this bistro he had told me about earlier, where his '_friend_' was going to meet him or something. Now, the place itself wasn't all that bad, so to speak. It looked nice. The interior mainly consisted of wood and bamboo, with flowers of all types(mostly red spider lilies, but whatever) and colors making up at least eighty percent of the entire place. It was on the ceiling, it lined the walls, the walkways to the tables, and even the ground in general.

But like I said before—flowers aren't all that important either. I still had to deal with that redheaded douchebag over there. And his new _nickname_ for me didn't make him any less annoying than he seemingly was.

"Will you _please_ just call me by my first name?" I finally seethed. It gets old _pretty_ fast, as you can see. "You're already embarrassing as it is."

Hinata rolled his eyes. What a pain. "I don't even know your first name. Wasn't it like...Tofu?"

"W-what?!" I stuttered, blinking in surprise—I mean seriously, how could anyone on this earth mess that up—rubbing my temples. "No!"

"Oh. Well, I tried!"

Composing myself for the umpteenth time that day, I tried to ignore the obvious aggravation that was brewing in my head thanks to that infuriating presence in front of me.

"Whatever, you jerk. Where's your so-called friend at, anyway? Didn't you say you were meeting him here?"

"Hm? His shift hasn't ended yet."

_Shift_?

"What do you mean by shift?"

I knew the question was dumb, since the redheaded shrimp stared at me with a point blank expression. I didn't really care, though. I needed some answers already.

"I mean that he won't be able to join us until his Boss calls for his break."

"So he _works_ here?"

Cue yet another blank look. "Why else would I drag you here by force? Where did you think we were even going? _The convenience store?"_

"No! I'm not _that_ stupid."

"I never said you were _stupid_ though," he grinned, " Just a bit _whiny_, that's all."

I felt my teeth unknowingly grit together. "Don't start."

There were times when I really wondered about what was really going through Hinata's head. I mean, besides the terrible nicknames and insulting comments. During the whole time I had spent with the guy, he never once actually told me about himself. It seemed he knew a hell of a lot more about me than I knew myself.

Since the whole drug dealer theory was painfully rejected, I had no other lead as to what Hinata's backstory was all about. (Though of course, nobody can really beat mine.) I had to think of another approach.

"So, Hinata,"(Don't judge me, there was no other option), "I got a question for you."

He looked back at me after getting zoned out from looking at what I figured was the ground. I couldn't really read his expression—it was like a mix of the general 'What is it', to 'What the hell do you want?' Who even _does_ that anymore?

"Well, what do you wanna know?"

"Beats me. Just the basics, I guess."

He pursed his lips, lazily twirling a random lock of hair with his finger. "The basics, huh? Okay."

* * *

><p><strong>A SUMMARY OF THE LIFE OF HINATA SHOUYO<strong>

Well first, my name is Shouyo! I'm 22 years old and I work at a daycare with a bunch of cute little kids! But one of them is going to regular school next week, so that kinda sucks. But anyway—

I went to the glorious Karasuno High where I played volleyball as the middle blocker for the Crows(_CAW CAW_) and currently take online classes for college. I'm hoping to go pro in volleyball and go to the Olympics one day!

I also have a really cute sister named Natsu, but she likes tennis instead of volleyball(hater) and is on the middle school team. She's pretty good at it...

But that's really all you should probably know about me. Everything else isn't very important. So yeah!

* * *

><p>"<em>That's it?"<em> Honestly, I was hoping for something a little more tragic and life-changing than that. Hinata playing volleyball did make me almost choke, though.

Because let's face it—if he was _still_ small now, then I could only imagine how much more of a complete _shrimp_ he was in high school. I could probably put a stool under him and he still wouldn't be able to touch the top of my head.

Hehe. He would _never_ be able to live that one down.

"You asked for the basics! I gave 'em to you!"

* * *

><p><strong>Hibachi Quarters-Back Room<strong>

"So wait. You want _me _to do it?_ Seriously?" _

_"_I don't see why not. I trust you."

Nishinoya couldn't help but feel more overjoyed than he already was when he held the small, microscopic camera in his palm. It was in the shape of a tiny badge with a hard to see pin that would stick on to his shirt.

Boss had just told him that he needed someone to 'check up on that other restaurant' and 'see what their food was like.' In other words, he wanted him to go to the rival restaurant—Boss didn't even know what it's name was, what a shame—and learn all of their secrets! It was like being a spy! No way he would miss his chance to skip on cleaning the dishes! Plus, it gave him an excuse to eat—who would really pass that up?

"Now, Nishinoya," Old man Akira lazily noted as the male couldn't stop shaking in his seat in excitement, "Don't forget your task. And don't tell anyone, either."

"Y-yeah Boss." He instantly stammered, still not even bothering to look up at him, choosing to instead stare at the little badge in awe. "I won't tell a soul."

"Thank you. _But._ If you screw this up..." The man began to say, before being interrupted once again.

"—you'll never forgive me, I know! Don't worry, Boss! I got this!"

Akira mentally sighed, rubbing his temple. _I hope so..._

Though unlike most of his staff, he somehow found it incredibly easy to trust Nishinoya, despite his prankish nature. He was loyal—not in the way that dogs were, since all you really had to do was that his job was 'on the line' and he'd be sold—and would honestly do anything as long as he didn't suffer from boredom.

"I'll just let Maki-san take your shift for now," He noted to himself, scratching his head. "Don't be too obvious when you go in there, though. Just—"

"—Act natural, right? I got it!"

With a final dorky salute to the old man, Nishinoya rushed his way out the back hall. Passing by the other employees—who were wondering what the hell had gotten into him being so enthusiastic about leaving Boss' office—as he toured through the kitchen and separate room closed of to the ones with reservations and big parties, he made a beeline for the main entrance. Nobody was in his way, and nobody had asked him why he was so intent of leaving anyway, since Akira would have easily pummeled him for trying to leave before his shift ended.

All in all, he found it incredibly easy to sneak away.

...

Until, _of course..._

A halo of orange hair stuck out from the rest of the blacks, grays, and browns in his vision. He also heard a faint, _yet oh-so-familiar _laugh emit from this same orange halo, causing Nishinoya to blink to himself. He didn't just see that, right?

He did, didn't he?

_'Nah. Must be just seeing things,'_ he said to himself, furrowing his brows. '_I know that that's not—"_

_"OH MY GOSH!"_

The whole restaurant, much to his and everyone else's displeasure, suddenly shook to the sound of a shocked scream, brown eyes the size of literal saucers boring holes into Nishinoya's eyes. He'd seen those same eyes a bunch of times before—but why couldn't he put a finger on who it was...

_"NOYA-SAN!"_

_'Oh. That's why...'_

* * *

><p><em>AN: _**Unfortunately, due to exams(and writers block :/) coming the following Monday, I won't be updating next week. As an apology, I'm in the middle of writing a random little one shot on around Tuesday or Wednesday while you wait for the next official addition to this story. ^^**

**Thoughts? Lemme know!**

**See ya!**

**-Tsuki**


	11. Welcome Back

**11**

"**_My job is to give everyone a chance to catch their breath and step back from all this and get back to work."_**

**-Bob Schieffer**

**Welcome Back**

* * *

><p><strong>Previously...<strong>

**A halo of orange hair stuck out from the rest of the blacks, grays, and browns in his vision. He also heard a faint, ****_yet oh-so-familiar _****laugh emit from this same orange halo, causing Nishinoya to blink to himself. He didn't just see that, right?**

**He did, didn't he?**

**_'Nah. Must be just seeing things,'_**** he said to himself, furrowing his brows. '****_I know that that's not—"_**

_**"OH MY GOSH!"**_

**The whole restaurant, much to his and everyone else's displeasure, suddenly shook to the sound of a shocked scream, brown eyes the size of literal saucers boring holes into Nishinoya's eyes. He'd seen those same eyes a bunch of times before—but why couldn't he put a finger on who it was...**

_**"NOYA-SAN!"**_

_**'Oh. That's why...'**_

* * *

><p>They got kicked out.<p>

_Kicked out._

Unbelievable, right? What restaurant would be so hostile to their costumers that any disturbance they made would result them actually leaving? By _force_.

At first, Oikawa had found it incredibly absurd, as two men calmly—well, compared to his cries of '_Let go!_' and constant yanking—ushered both him and Hinata outside the bistro and promptly told them that they couldn't come back. Ever.

What a nice time to be kicked out of the one place that seemed legitimately decent other than all the other fast food stops littering the mall's plaza.

And _now_ here he was. Back in the daycare—with only a mere apple and some water to spare along with five hours of sleep—retelling the tale of how Hinata nearly tackled the ebony haired waiter to the ground before he scampered away behind the main counter and into the back room of the bistro to the same five little munchkins from yesterday.

The only one who really found this all undeniably hilarious was Tetsurou—Aone's reaction was still unreadable, as it always was. Asahi showed a bit of concern, however, as his eyes continued to grow out of shock and surprise. Typical Asahi.

"Aha! So you and Sensei got busted?" The bed headed boy teased, sticking out his tongue. He was currently engaged in a fierce standoff with Aone in Jenga. It wasn't until Asahi had asked the two why they looked so tired today that he lost his concentration on the game and instead resorted to listening to Hinata's '_story_'.

But in all honestly, Oikawa was glad that that long—and admittedly amusing—night was over, and he could finally focus on what he was really supposed to be focusing on in the first place. He didn't even get to eat at that dumb bistro, though. Talk about unfair.

Said redhead rolled his eyes. He honestly didn't know how much more he could take of this. "No, it wasn't like that, Tetsurou," he emphasized this by gently flicking him on the head. "The people just asked us to leave. That's all."

The boy can still remember Noya's crazed face, as if he had been caught in the act. Usually, he wouldn't have looked so alarmed. Still, he seemed to be up to something that Hinata himself didn't even know about. Wouldn't have hurt to know...

_Well, there's a first time for everything..._

"It was kinda like he was embarrassed to se me," he continued. "Have no idea why, though." Hinata poured another plastic cup filled with apple juice before chugging it down his throat as if at a bar getting drunk. Oikawa grimaced. Did he really take it this as personal as he thought?

"Well, it _was_ you who started screaming like a maniac." He interjected, feeling wrinkles already blemishing his otherwise perfect face. "He probably wanted to cry at the sight of you."

He was met with a narrowed glare in response.

"But did you say hi to Noya?" Asahi asked, timidly tugging on Hinata's apron in curiosity.

The redhead shook his head.

"He didn't really _say_ anything, now that I think about it. Just kinda looked at me like this." He quickly mimicked a shocked expression, earning a rare laugh—it was really a chuckle, but still—from Aone. "And then he ran back behind the counter. Weird."

"Maybe he scared of you." A bored Tobio muttered from his usual spot next to the large bin of Legos. "He thought you was the..._boogeyman_..."

A chorus of groans emitted from the mouths of Asahi and Yachi. It seemed that even they were clearly done with the pure stupidity of the boys imagination—even if it did seem a bit adorable as well.

"Why would he be scared of his own friend, though?" Tetsurou added, scratching his head in thought. "I mean, Asahi doesn't hide in the cupboard when he sees me."

"If he was small enough, he probably would."

Asahi gaped, staring at Aone with a look of pure betrayal. The albino simply shrugged, seemingly unaware at how much that actually offended him. Both Oikawa and Hinata stared at each other in surprise.

"You can really crack some jokes, can't you, Aone-chan?" The brunette chuckled, ruffling the six-year-old's halo of white locks. He puffed out his cheeks, too embarrassed to say or do anything to get his large hand from off his head. He wouldn't admit he enjoyed it, though.

"You think he likes that, Sensei?" Tetsurou absentmindedly asked, watching the boys flustered expression. Hinata shrugged, unable to really get much of a legitimate reading of his face either.

"Dunno. Hard to tell..."

Shimizu could still feel her stomach drop when she saw the list of names again for the fifth time that same morning. The _new_ list, so to speak.

She already knew that Tetsurou was way past the age limit for his class—the boy was seven, and it would be against the policy to try to keep him in Room 104 for very long.

As if that wasn't already nerve-wracking, his own mother had been dropping little hints here and there about doing so much as moving away and putting him in public school.

Now, she didn't have a problem with that. The boy had been stuck in a little daycare for who knows how long. He had to go at some point.

But that didn't mean Shimizu didn't get attached to the guy all the while. Every morning she'd expect him to greet her with a lopsided smile and a sloppy air kiss as he dashed towards his classroom. And every afternoon he'd do the same exact thing.

Some days she had thought he was just trying to tease her, or trying to give her the impression that he was a casanova of sorts—overtime, however, she began to see the sincerity in it.

Who would take his place now?

She skimmed the long list, each one holding around four or five new kids, along with the ones that were already in the daycare. Depending on their age, they weren't going anywhere anytime soon.

_**Bokuto, Koutarou/04 years**_

_**Kozume, Kenma/03 years**_

Even with him gone, two would take Tetsurou's place. As far as appearance was concerned, Shimizu had no idea what they looked like.

What was more important was the fact that she'd have to let both Hinata and Oikawa know—Tetsurou only had the rest of the week before he'd officially leave for real school.

With a heavy sigh she gathered the remaining stacks of paper in her hands and stuffed them all in the metal drawers beneath the main desk.

_'He can still come, in a way,'_ she thought to herself in desperation of feeling relieved, '_He'll just be put in the host section...I think...' _

It still confused her as to why she still felt so strong and troubled at this—it was just a little boy who happened to be too old to stay at a daycare. It happened all the time!

The girl was about to go get some water to settle her nerves until an ear-bleeding sound emitted from the telephone just across her desk.

The Caller ID didn't show up on the monitor, which made her curious. She didn't look like she cared about it all that much, but being the front desk lady was very boring to her most of the time.

A little phone call wouldn't hurt, now would it?

* * *

><p><p>

**A/N: Wow this was incredibly short but whatever. Anyway...**

**Hello, everyone, long time no see! Thankfully, exams are finally over and I'm now able to update again—But now there's a little change.**

**Instead of every Sunday, I'm going to try and update this whenever I can. Mainly because at some point I always seem to update early(this chapter is actually an example of this), and then sometimes I'm a total wreck trying to finish the chapters up in time since I'm utterly terrified of deadlines tbh XD. I hope that's alright with you all :)**

**On a last note, I want to thank you guys for giving this story over 1,500 views from last week—why do you even want to read this still, as crappy as it is now—but I appreciate it regardless! (・ω・)ノ**

**Thoughts? Lemme know!**

**_-Tsuki_**


	12. Knights and a New Face

**12**

**_"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales."_**

**_-Albert Einstein _**

**Knights and a New Face**

* * *

><p>"Hm...you can be the dragon. And <em>you<em> can be the soldier. _You_ can be the knight...And _I'm_ the king!"

"Tetsurou, what in the world am I wearing?"

The young boy slyly smirked at Asahi, who was glaring daggers at him through what looked like a poorly made mask made out of notebook paper.

"That's the mask that the villain has to put on. You gotta wear it for the whole game." He responded in a seemingly amusing tone.

"But why? And why am _I_ the villain anyway?"

"Because you're supposed to be really ugly. Villains _are_ always really ugly."

A moment of unexpected silence fell over the room—because _gosh_, who knew he could be so blunt—before a loud wail echoed from the masked six-year old.

"W-Wha? You think I'm _ugly_?!" He cried in disbelief, nearly on the verge of tears as he stepped back in shock.

"Well no—"

"Yeah you do! That's why I'm the villain, isn't it, Sensei?" Tetsurou looked on to the redhead, hoping for him to get his point across without making the boy any more distraught.

"Asahi, calm down, okay? He's not trying to be mean." Hinata mumbled, currently draping himself with one of the many capes (which was kept for very weird reasons) that were all folded neatly in the cubbies near the large carpet. "It's just because Aone wants to be the dragon, and nobody else wants to be the villian."

"But...why can't you be the villian, Sensei?"

"Me? W-well...that's because I'm not really the villian type."

_I'm going to kill that narcissistic jerk once this is over._

After a tedious period of begging and pleading for no real reason other than to just get under Hinata's skin, Oikawa was somehow able to get all the kids together in a game of 'Knights and Dragons.' The redhead had never even heard of such a stupid—and made up, but Oikawa never told him about that part, so _shhhhh_—game in his life. _If_ it was a game at all.

"Well, Yachi-chan's obviously the princess." Tetsurou added, choosing to simply ignore the frustrated Asahi and put his hand on her head."

The little girl pursed her lips, as if disagreeing with the older boy.

"I don't wanna be the _princess_," she whined. "I wanna be a knight too!"

"Me too!"

"So do I." echoed Aone from his dragon costume. Hinata constantly urged him not to wear the headpiece, but the albino thought otherwise.

"But Aone, I thought you _wanted_ to be the dragon."

"I did."

Oikawa raised a confused brow. "Then...why do you want to be a knight? You know they can't breathe fire like real dragons can!"

"But dragons _aren't_ real."

"What? Yeah they are!" This was from Yachi. "They've _always_ been real! Right, Tobio?"

"Not really."

"Hey. That's enough from the both of you..."

Tetsurou rolled his eyes, annoyed at how _incredibly_ slow everyone was being just to get started on a simple game.

"_Yachi-channn_! You gotta be the princess! You're the only girl!"

"No! I wanna be a _knight_!" The girl now wailed, pounding on his chest with her hands balled up into tiny fists.

"But...everyone can't be a knight," Oikawa interjected, lowering "It's one or the other, you know."

Yachi stared at him in disbelief. "But knights are cool! They do all these cool moves like '_hah kah_! and '_yah_!' and '_ooyah_!'" She performed slashing motions as if wielding a large sword all the while, raising her voice at every twist or step she took that looked like she was decimating the enemy. The display was too adorable to be taken seriously by both Hinata and Oikawa. Standing next to Aone was Tobio, the prince, who '_hmmped_' in agreement. He wasn't really sure what princes did in general, but he still found the part remotely interesting.

However, his princess wasn't so fond of her role—she wanted to fight the dragon all by herself, for gods sake.

"But if _you're_ a knight, and Tetsurou is the king...Aone and Asahi are the bad guys, _and_ Tobio is the prince...we _still_ need a princess."

Tetsurou adjusted the folds of his paper crown and flapped out his cape before kneeling in thought, as if honestly thinking of a way of how everything would work. Hinata furrowed his brows, scratching his head. He knew what he wanted to suggest before Oikawa even had a chance of finishing his statement—but he figured that yesterday was enough for him. It was rare of how many times he could embarrass one person so much in one day.

_Eh. It wouldn't hurt to leave him alone just this once. Not like he'll even do anything anyway._

"Well...we could always get _Shou-chan_ to do it.

A familiar, smug grin—though he didn't even want to look, knowing already of its sickening presence on his face—turned his way as Hinata could slowly feel his face twist in shock horror and embarrassment.

_I stand corrected..._

* * *

><p>"I hope we're not late to come by..."<p>

"Oh no, you're fine. Just let me find your paperwork, ma'am."

He watched in earnest curiosity as the bespectacled and incredibly beautiful—though the word itself wasn't even in his vocabulary—woman with long black hair opened a little desk drawer and unraveled a small packet of paper held together with a single staple. With ease, she gave the packet to his mother, who took it a little too shakily than she thought. Her short, frizzy black locks bounched as she fidgeted with the documents in her hand.

"A-Are you _really_ sure I can do this now? Should I come back another time?" She stammered, pointing towards the door.

He really got exasperated at her whenever she did this—he never exactly understood why she even got so jittery in the first place.

Nonetheless, the woman shook her head again, seemingly irked by her urge to rush out the door. Guess he wasn't the only one.

"No worries. All I need for you to do is sign these papers. I'll take care of the rest."

His mother nodded, choosing to stay silent and took out a single blue pen. Grabbing his hand with the other, she guided him to the chairs near the door to sit down. The woman resumed her work—or as he liked to say, _witchcraft_—at her desk.

"I'm really sorry about all this, having to call you so late in the day and all" she would murmur in between pen strokes, "it's just that something came up at my job—and I don't have anyone to watch Koutarou for me..."

The little boy pouted, but didn't make any sound. He didn't really like it whenever his mother implied that he was too young to do what he liked to define as 'big kid' things, such as sliding down a huge slide without her supervision, or riding his bike without training wheels.

"That's fine, ma'am. We'd be happy to watch him for you." The woman responded almost instantly, as if she were an automaton already programmed to answer to those kinds of things. "It's only noon, so you're free to take your time."

She very well remembered that rather hasty phone all. From what she remembered, the woman was as jittery and out of breath as she was now in person. She was going on and on about a lot of miscellaneous things while on the phone—which she didn't really mind all that much. She saw something in the boy that piqued her interest, in a way. It reminded her a lot of Tetsurou—whether or not that was a good thing, one thing _was_ certain.

The poor thing was scared. Out of his wits, even. She didn't want him to be that way. She wanted him to smile, and to laugh. The world in which she and his mother was in was much scarier, anyway.

"Ah, I thank you for that. But...they won't let me leave until four. Is that _too_ long?"

"Not at all. We close at five thirty."

"Oh...okay. Well then, here you go, Ms..."

"Shimizu. But you may call me Kiyoko, if you'd like." She then gazed towards the boy who had been staring right back at her. He jumped in his own skin, embarrassed.

"It's very nice to meet you, Koutarou. I hope you'll meet a lot of new friends."

Koutarou felt his face flush as she gave him a warm smile. He had never witnessed a girl—or anyone, really—smile at him so sincerely in his life. Most found him too rowdy and annoying. Others didn't really think much of him other than another daycare delinquent.

"Hey, Kou-chan? What do you say?"

"Oh, er...T-Thank you..."

"Once upon a time in the kingdom of,er..._Sunshine_, lived a princess who always was very, _very_ happy."

A vicious glare was all he got from the 'princess', who wore a sparkling golden tiara on his head and a fluffy yellow veil covering his face.

"Hey, _princess~_! You're supposed to look happy, remember?" Oikawa snickered under his breath. "Show me that pretty face of yours!"

"_B-Be quiet..._"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I really missed writing about the kids, so this chapter was really fun to write. (^v^)**

**Thoughts? Lemme know! (It's getting pretty lonely in my inbox lately... ;^^)**

**See ya! **

**-_Tsuki_**


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